Carl Jung introduced the concept of synchronicity, which means that not everything is a coincidence. The concept says that when several things happen by chance, which we think are just by coincidence, are not actually coincidences but they have some meaning for the person experiencing it. Synchronicity is the idea of meaningful coincidence.And to explain this, Carl Jung wrote one of his most insightful yet simple takes on coincidence: We often dream about people from whom we receive a letter by the next post. “I have ascertained on several occasions that at the moment when the dream occurred the letter was already lying in the post-office of the addressee,” he added.There is no obvious chain of cause and effect connecting these events. Yet together they seem strangely meaningful.Synchronicity suggests that there is a deeper, non-linear dimension to reality, where events and mental processes are linked in a meaningful way, beyond the realm of cause and effect. Jung first introduced the concept of synchronicity in the 1920s when he was exploring the connection between the unconscious mind and the external world.The quote on synchronicity was published in 1952 in his essay Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle.
What did Jung say about coincidence and synchronicity? Are they psychic abilities?
The example that he cited evokes an eerie feeling as if the person who dreamed about someone and heard from them or about them the very next morning has psychic abilities. But Jung explained this easily and he did not dismiss it as a mere coincidence when it happens again and again. Jung argued that not all meaningful events are linked by physical causation. Some are connected symbolically or psychologically. Receiving a letter after dreaming of the sender was one of the examples that led him to think about synchronicity.Jung believed dreams emerge from deep emotional relationships. Even if you haven’t consciously thought about someone in years, your psyche may still regard them as significant.If that person is about to re-enter your life, whether by chance or because they have decided to contact you, dreaming of them can feel like your unconscious preparing you for that encounter.To explain synchronicity, Carl Jung gave several examples from his life and the lives of his patients. One famous example is the story of a patient who was describing a dream about a golden scarab beetle when, at that very moment, a real golden scarab beetle flew into Jung’s office.ExplanationJung believed that synchronicity was connected to the collective unconscious, a concept he developed to explain the shared reservoir of archetypes and symbols that are present in all human beings. According to Jung, synchronistic events occur when an individual’s personal unconscious aligns with the collective unconscious, creating a meaningful connection between inner and outer experiences.
Modern psychological perspective
Most psychologists today would interpret the phenomenon differently.Several cognitive processes can make these experiences seem extraordinary:Selective memory: We remember the dreams that coincide with later events but forget the countless dreams that lead nowhere.Confirmation bias: Once the letter arrives, we attach greater significance to the earlier dream.Subconscious pattern recognition: Our brains often detect patterns and probabilities without conscious awareness.Coincidence: Given how many dreams people have over a lifetime, some are bound to coincide remarkably with later events.
